Matt Hughes is in critical condition after his truck was hit by a train Friday. The former MMA fighter, UFC champion, and UFC Hall-of-Famer was airlifted to hospital after the collision in his hometown of Hillsboro, Illinois. Here are more details from The Belleville News-Democrat:
Despite crossbars warning of a coming train, Hughes drove onto the railroad tracks on Beelers Trail where the moving train slammed into the truck’s passenger side, State Police said. The crash occurred at around 10:45 a.m.
Hughes was flown to a Springfield hospital.
UFC president Dana White gave ESPN’s Brett Okamoto some further details:
White earlier said he had been in contact with Hughes’ family.
“Apparently he has head trauma,” White said. “His family is traveling to him now.”
The UFC sent out a tweet saying their thoughts are with Hughes:
Our thoughts are with Matt Hughes and his family. pic.twitter.com/TF6BaHSa85
— UFC (@ufc) June 16, 2017
Following a successful wrestling career (he was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at Eastern Illinois), Hughes started competing in mixed martial arts in 1998 and joined the UFC in 1999. He went on to great success there, holding the UFC welterweight title from November 2001-January 2004, and again from October 2004-November 2006, being inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame in 2010, and retiring in 2013 with a 45-9 career record. He’s been a key part of the UFC and was one of its biggest stars for a long time. Our thoughts go out to him and his family.
